Flick talks Lamine, Araujo, Ansu, Szczesny, La Masia ahead of Athletic Club vs Barcelona | OneFootball

La Liga champions Barcelona will play the final game of their season on Sunday night as they take on Athletic Club away at San Mames.

The Blaugrana were crowned champions of Spain earlier this month after securing a victory over RCD Espanyol in the Catalan derby.

In the midst of the euphoria and celebration, though, Hansi Flick’s men stumbled to a defeat to Villarreal last weekend and will now be keen on bouncing back and ending the campaign on a winning note.

Ahead of the trip to the Basque country, the German tactician spoke to the media for the first time after signing a new contract with Barcelona until 2027.

“We are very focused, it’s great to have three days off but we came back together and after two training sessions I have seen the team very committed and ready to show their potential,” said Flick, kicking things off.

The Barça head coach then touched upon the renewal of Lamine Yamal, which is expected to be made official in July when he turns 13.

“I have full confidence in him, the player knows that, he loves to play here at Barça,” said the German.

Regarding the future of Wojciech Szczesny and his continuity at the club, Flick insisted that Deco was in charge of addressing the matter, stating:

“The most important thing, and I have spoken to Deco about it, is that the important players stay to guarantee Barça’s future. Deco knows what we can strengthen. We talk a lot with Decio and we are on the same wavelength.”

On the idea of playing a starting XI fully comprised of players from La Masia, Flick remarked:

“We’ll see… what we have to do is concentrate and we have to be serious. Barça has always been a very good combination of home and top players coming from abroad.

“La Masia has quality and obviously we can give minutes to players who deserve it. We’ll see tomorrow. Looking ahead to the pre-season we will also see how it evolves.”

There have been some rumblings about the future of Ronald Araujo despite him signing a new contract earlier this year. But Flick was confident that the Uruguayan will continue at Barcelona, as he said:

“Of course, he signed his renewal. I believe in him 100%. It was not an easy season for him, with Cubarsi and Inigo so settled but I am sure that Araujo will improve a lot the following season.”

Set to depart. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

On the future of Ansu Fati, who is likely to leave in the summer, he stated: “It’s not my decision, he has a contract and he will make the decision. When he wants to talk to me we’ll talk about it, but it’s up to him.”

On being asked to rate Barcelona’s season, he replied: “I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it. Between an 8 and a 10…”

Regarding the plans for the summer and the pre-season, Flick noted: “We will start the pre-season on Sunday 13 July, with tests and training on Monday. We have a lot of players with their national teams.

“I will try to watch games in Stuttgart like Spain-France. Then I’ll go on holiday. I’m going far away.”

Talking about the challenges that Barcelona might encounter next season, he added:

“What I want is to improve, I know it’s not easy but we know how to improve. We have to work hard. Everything is already planned. Also the tour and the matches in the summer. Hopefully, nothing bad will happen and everything will be fine on 13 July.”

On if there will be any tactical tweaks made over the summer, he said: “You will see next season. Our style is very clear.”

When asked about Barcelona’s rumoured transfer targets, Luis Diaz and Marcus Rashford, Flick refused to comment, saying:

“I don’t want to talk about players who are not in my team, but they are both fantastic players and I like them. We’ll see what happens.”

However, he reaffirmed that Barcelona intend to sign a new winger, saying: “That’s what we talked about. In the last few games, we haven’t had much of a chance there. We have to try to improve.”

Concluding, Flick sent a message to the Barça Femeni team ahead of their Champions League final match tonight, saying:

“I want to wish the girls the best of luck in Lisbon before I leave, I hope they win the Champions League. It will be a goal for us for next year. I will watch the game at home this afternoon.

“I thank you all at this press conference after this season. I repeat, this evening, at home watching the women’s final. We’ll see each other again next season and I hope it goes at least as well as this one. Thank you for everything.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo